Explaining Fathers' Involvement in Child Care: Recent Findings from Israel

Abstract

The study aimed to examine variables that explain perceptions of paternal involvement in child care among 88 Jewish Israeli women with at least one child aged 2-6. The women's perceptions of paternal involvement in child care were examined in five domains: physical care, education, showing love, playing with the children, and punishment. Based on the family systems approach, we examined the extent to which the following sets of maternal variables contribute to explaining mothers' perceptions of paternal involvement in child care: gender role ideology, maternal gatekeeping, desirability of control, perceived support from the extended family, and mothers' satisfaction with their husbands' participation in child care. The predictor variables explained the mothers' perceptions of paternal involvement in the domain of showing love to the greatest extent.